2022 Official Arccos Bundle Member Test

[DiscipleofPenick]

15 hours ago, goaliewales14 said:

Great job with the reviews everyone!!  

I know some of you mentioned in the play/trade section that you weren't sure if it was worth it to renew it after the 1 year is complete.  That's exactly where I'm at with Arccos.  I used it last year (without link) and did like that I could put hard data on where to focus, but I'm not sure if it's worth the price to renew it for another year.  Mine showed that I really needed to improve on approach shots (which I knew), but never realized how strong my short game was because I'm always having to use it.  

I feel like the one thing I really want to continue using is just the GPS to get real adjusted numbers.  I'm wondering if I can just do something else like 18Birdies to make it cheaper.

I'm almost wondering if Arccos is something that you turn on every few years just to check progress rather than keep renewing it year after year.  Love to get your thoughts as well!

I am planning on renewing my subscription when it expires. The test did confirm what I already thought, but I played several of those rounds in less optimal conditions as the test didn't begin till October and that's when the season is winding down in Ohio. I want to see what it looks like when I play throughout the whole summer and see where I get to.

[DiscipleofPenick]

3 hours ago, Ben_Howell34 said:

I am seeing a theme in these tests: the app is giving confirmation on what we thought our weaknesses are, not necessarily giving us new information. 

I agree in part, now I need to do something with that data. Arccos has shown me what to focus on, so I want to see if I can make those numbers get to where they should be and get all my SG stats to a positive number.

Currently I am +0.5 overall SG  vs. an 4 HCP but the breakdown is

-0.6 Driver +0.8 Irons +0.7 Short -0.3 Putting

It says I need to work on my 10-25 foot putts, but I don't know how to improve that. I don't expect to make more from that distance.  And my 50-100 yard approaches. I hit the green but my proximity is terrible. I need to dial in my numbers and get it closer when I can attack. I have a better proximity from 150-174 yards (44 feet) than I do from 50-100 (49 feet). I actually think these two things can work in conjunction as my 3-putt percentage skyrockets when I'm over 40 feet away. 

I think driving can also be an issue, but it's just a round where the drive get squirrely and I lose a few shots to penalties. I need to figure out what to do on those rounds. 

[Ben_Howell34]

22 hours ago, DiscipleofPenick said:

I agree in part, now I need to do something with that data. Arccos has shown me what to focus on, so I want to see if I can make those numbers get to where they should be and get all my SG stats to a positive number.

Currently I am +0.5 overall SG  vs. an 4 HCP but the breakdown is

-0.6 Driver +0.8 Irons +0.7 Short -0.3 Putting

It says I need to work on my 10-25 foot putts, but I don't know how to improve that. I don't expect to make more from that distance.  And my 50-100 yard approaches. I hit the green but my proximity is terrible. I need to dial in my numbers and get it closer when I can attack. I have a better proximity from 150-174 yards (44 feet) than I do from 50-100 (49 feet). I actually think these two things can work in conjunction as my 3-putt percentage skyrockets when I'm over 40 feet away. 

I think driving can also be an issue, but it's just a round where the drive get squirrely and I lose a few shots to penalties. I need to figure out what to do on those rounds. 

I feel like the SG putting on this can be a little shoddy. Like it seems that it expects you to make a ton of putts or your losing strokes, which just isn’t reasonable to believe will happen. 

[DiscipleofPenick]

I didn't think about that, but it's true, I don't 3 putt often, but I also don't make many outside7 feet. Here's my Arccos numbers. I know I'm averaging almost 33 putts per round so if I can get that close to 30 I'd be ecstatic. Like I said, I think the way to get that number down is to work on proximity more than my approach to putting. And I know when I have a day that I have 27 or 28 putts it's not because I was on fire, it's because I missed a ton of greens and was chipping it close.

[Ben_Howell34]

2 hours ago, DiscipleofPenick said:

I didn't think about that, but it's true, I don't 3 putt often, but I also don't make many outside7 feet. Here's my Arccos numbers. I know I'm averaging almost 33 putts per round so if I can get that close to 30 I'd be ecstatic. Like I said, I think the way to get that number down is to work on proximity more than my approach to putting. And I know when I have a day that I have 27 or 28 putts it's not because I was on fire, it's because I missed a ton of greens and was chipping it close.

So your putts per hole is good but your putts per round is bad. How is that possible? Ha trying to wrap my head around that. 
 

I feel like it does not take into account good lag putts as much as it detracts from a missed midrange putt (10-20 feet). Like I played a couple weeks ago and on the 2nd hardest par 3 on the course, hit the green but was 60 plus feet away. I lag it to 4 feet and par it. Had a few other good lags as well. Had one 3 putt on the round but I had a couple strokes lost that day. Seemed out of whack to me. 

[DiscipleofPenick]

Lol I didn't even notice that. And I don't know where they are getting the per round number from, because 1.8*18=32.4 so half a stroke better than what they are reporting. I think the big thing for me is that I don't need to worry about my putting and keep it in mind that for my handicap, I am not a bad putter by any means. Everyone quotes the make distance for the PGA (50% at 8 feet) but I'm not on the PGA! The 50% make distance for a 4 HCP is 4-5 feet. This chart is from Shot Scope.

I'm starting to feel like SG is to golf as what WAR is to baseball. It has a place, and it's kind of a catch all stat, but it is inaccurate and the math can be fuzzy. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the base numbers used in the calculation were arbitrarily selected.

[GolfSpy AFG]

A look at an Arccos scorecard in the new Dashboard Beta:

Overall Link did pretty good today, again.  I had the weird phenomenon of Arccos adding a couple shots, and I'm still not sure why.  I caught them right away, one was a putt and one was a chip, but I'm really not sure why that would be happening.  Regardless, checking the score on the hole right after it while walking to the next tee box is turning out to be a solid "best practice"...it would be a pain in the ass to have to hunt around for those extra strokes otherwise.

I also found myself gripping up on the club a couple times again, treating the sensor like the end of the club and effectively lengthening the club.  Hopefully something I can train myself out of, but I have to admit I'm kind of annoyed at having to pay attention to it.  Maybe that's not a thing for others...is for me so far.

[CudaKota66]

Full Disclosure: I am a ShotScope system user (V1, V2, V3, and now, X5) and an Arccos owner - my new Ping irons came with the sensors, Ping/Arccos supplied the sensors for my other clubs, and I purchased the latest Link + 1 year subscription. My intention was to trial Arccos this season....which may begin eventually in this crazy but typical Indiana spring 

So, I have 'skin in the game'. I'm attempting to identify the best system for myself.

I would like to thank the Spies that were selected as testers (I did enter ) & offered their honest reviews. That's what helps MGS continue to be what Adam started...unvarnished truth in the golf industry. Also, thanks to other Arccos users for adding their experiences.

@Getoffmylawn You stated, "I briefly looked into other GPS alternatives, and found that most of the good apps and devices out there are subscription based too". There is an alternative that is not subscription based; it requires a user to wear a device on their wrist - something you said you are NOT going to do (I understand). You also stated you didn't want to carry your phone (I fully concur). Reading all of the posts, it does appear yourself & others are having to refer to a phone repeatedly throughout a round. Is that correct, or am I assuming/misunderstanding?

I do not mind wearing a device...whether it be a Link on my belt or a device on my wrist. I wear a smartwatch nearly 24/7 (or a Whoop device, at a minimum). I will say that with my 'golf wrist device'  missed shots are only due to user-error. I had several rounds last season where it didn't miss any shots - the 'Holy Grail' we all are pursuing.

I do abhor referring to my phone repeatedly/constantly on the course. My 'wrist' provides F/M/B yardages & my rangefinder supplies the exact yardage.

That being said, I was very intrigued by the Caddie feature Arccos offers (after 5 rounds, minimum, I later learned) & the robust stats it compiles. Now I realize that utilizing the Caddie feature would require me to refer to my phone on every shot & be an internal dichotomy. Then, add ensuring shots aren't missed while traversing from the last green to the next tee? Hmmm.... 

Please keep posting honest feedback - it helps everyone. May everyone hit it long, roll it in, & enjoy playing!

[GolfSpy AFG]

9 hours ago, CudaKota66 said:

Full Disclosure: I am a ShotScope system user (V1, V2, V3, and now, X5) and an Arccos owner - my new Ping irons came with the sensors, Ping/Arccos supplied the sensors for my other clubs, and I purchased the latest Link + 1 year subscription. My intention was to trial Arccos this season....which may begin eventually in this crazy but typical Indiana spring 

So, I have 'skin in the game'. I'm attempting to identify the best system for myself.

I would like to thank the Spies that were selected as testers (I did enter ) & offered their honest reviews. That's what helps MGS continue to be what Adam started...unvarnished truth in the golf industry. Also, thanks to other Arccos users for adding their experiences.

@Getoffmylawn You stated, "I briefly looked into other GPS alternatives, and found that most of the good apps and devices out there are subscription based too". There is an alternative that is not subscription based; it requires a user to wear a device on their wrist - something you said you are NOT going to do (I understand). You also stated you didn't want to carry your phone (I fully concur). Reading all of the posts, it does appear yourself & others are having to refer to a phone repeatedly throughout a round. Is that correct, or am I assuming/misunderstanding?

I do not mind wearing a device...whether it be a Link on my belt or a device on my wrist. I wear a smartwatch nearly 24/7 (or a Whoop device, at a minimum). I will say that with my 'golf wrist device'  missed shots are only due to user-error. I had several rounds last season where it didn't miss any shots - the 'Holy Grail' we all are pursuing.

I do abhor referring to my phone repeatedly/constantly on the course. My 'wrist' provides F/M/B yardages & my rangefinder supplies the exact yardage.

That being said, I was very intrigued by the Caddie feature Arccos offers (after 5 rounds, minimum, I later learned) & the robust stats it compiles. Now I realize that utilizing the Caddie feature would require me to refer to my phone on every shot & be an internal dichotomy. Then, add ensuring shots aren't missed while traversing from the last green to the next tee? Hmmm.... 

Please keep posting honest feedback - it helps everyone. May everyone hit it long, roll it in, & enjoy playing!

Thanks for the feedback.

If you're referring to ShotScope as not being subscription based, yeah, I'm tracking, but you're right in that the watch is a non-starter for me.

As for referencing my phone during the round, I'm of course on the phone for the GPS function each hole.  My heartburn with it that I'm trying to get used to is picking it up to check my score after each hole.  In my experience so far, that's the only way to avoid a much longer/larger task of scorecard clean up after the round.  The big down side is that I hate having my score and how I'm doing relative to par put in front of my nose 18 times...I worry that will push me into more of a results-oriented frame of mind than I want to be.

[RITZ]

Update from my 3-9-23 post in which Caddie Link is missing shots and also adding shots. 

Example as 3 wood was the most missed club, the 3 wood sensor is connected per the diagnostic test on Arccos caddie. 

The 3 wood did show the club was visible on the Arccos Link Diagnostics page. 

Then I hit the club on the ground per Arccos tutorial on diagnostics and the 3 wood did register a hit via caddie Link to my phone app. 

Played 9 today and 3 wood was missed on several holes.

So with cold spring weather in Chicagoland (hoodies and windbreakers) I wore the Caddie Link on my front leg left cargo pants pocket below my waist/front left pants pocket outside on the lower part of the pocket, but that also did not get the Caddie Link to record all of my shots.

My cell phone with IOS 16.4 is up to date and it picked up 100% of my drives when my phone was in my back pocket for many years just using the driver sensor that I had,... but the Caddie Link microphone technology is not better than that?   Then I switched to placing it as the recommended front left pocket when I installed all of the sensors and still got mixed results like the Caddie Link.   

I am working with Arccos support team to help get their technology to work for me.  So far Im thinking the Caddie Link was a waste of money as the cell phone is needed anyway to see distances.  My thought was the Caddie Link $139 would solve 90% of their missed or added shots.

[Ben_Howell34]

Played again yesterday, Arccos performed pretty well. Missed 3-4 shots but nothing crazy. I’ve noticed that if for some reason I have to hit two chips it will usually miss one of those (luckily that’s rare, but not as rare as I’d like ). I trashed the Link awhile ago so I’m going straight phone and it’s working much better. 

[BeansGuy]

I finally had a chance to play here in Utah before more snow was dumped on us. I find Arccos with the watch is still the best option. The only time I saw it, unable to detect it, was when I was in the bunker. Touch shot on the short side of the green. I miss hit it, and the ball stayed in the bunker. I hit it again, but Arccos didn't detect it because I think it thought I was hitting from the same spot. I adjusted it post-round, though.

[GolfSpy AFG]

One thing I didn't comment on in my test was a new (or at least newer) capability in Arccos to link to your GHIN handicap and post your scores directly to your handicap from within the Arccos app.  I linked it, and now that the season has officially started (you can't post until 1 April here), I can report that it works.  Here's a screenshot of Arccos telling me they've posted it:

And sure enough here's the update on the GHIN website:

[DiscipleofPenick]

On 4/1/2023 at 12:10 PM, Ben_Howell34 said:

Played again yesterday, Arccos performed pretty well. Missed 3-4 shots but nothing crazy. I’ve noticed that if for some reason I have to hit two chips it will usually miss one of those (luckily that’s rare, but not as rare as I’d like ). I trashed the Link awhile ago so I’m going straight phone and it’s working much better. 

Yea, Arccos won't pick it up if you only hit the ball like 15 feet.

4 minutes ago, Getoffmylawn said:

One thing I didn't comment on in my test was a new (or at least newer) capability in Arccos to link to your GHIN handicap and post your scores directly to your handicap from within the Arccos app.  I linked it, and now that the season has officially started (you can't post until 1 April here), I can report that it works.  Here's a screenshot of Arccos telling me they've posted it:

And sure enough here's the update on the GHIN website:

That's a cool feature. I have a GHIN as well and our posting season just began on April 1 as well.

 

[Ben_Howell34]

Starting to get in the groove of using Arccos once I gave up on the Linc. It will add random shots maybe 2-3 times a round or miss a shot every once in awhile but that is it.

 

I do have a question that I thought you all might know. Is there a way that you can see a breakdown of the SG by the actual shot? Like as in “approach shot on hole 1 was SG +0.4” or something similar. Reason I ask is that sometimes the SG numbers seem odd and I would love to see how each home adds up to what I am getting. 

[GolfSpy AFG]

So maybe it’s time to revisit this old thread for a bit.  Just picked up an Apple Watch.

I primarily got it for health monitoring purposes, but Arccos certainly crossed my mind.  Much as it will pain me to screw those sensors into my beautiful Edel’s, I plan to get a few rounds in relying on the watch (read “no Link”) and see how that goes.

[GolfSpy AFG]

So, I finally plugged the sensors into my Edel's (it pained me to do it), set everything up, and took Arccos back out on the course, this time via my Apple Watch.

The Good

The watch interface was extremely user-friendly, and constantly provided me with accurate GPS data.  (The second pic is a comparison to the cart GPS showing a back pin.). Setting the pin location (last pic) is also easy; easier than with Link actually.  Starting up the round, navigating holes, the watch interface is truly flawless.  And, I did not experience any watch battery drain.  I've heard this complaint before from other users, and perhaps this just owes to my Apple Watch being a brand new Series 8, but battery life was not a problem for me.

The Bad

I shot a 69!  Except I didn't, I shot an 80.  Using the watch showed me no improvement in detecting shots, and in many ways it was worse.  It actually missed more than 11 shots, but it also did the fun trick of adding shots on other holes.  For instance, I had a par on the par 3 6th hole, and Arccos recorded a triple!  I have no idea why that would happen either, in fact if you've played with me you know I am very light on practice swings and I take no practice strokes on the putting green, so what the hell Arccos is picking up is beyond me.

So, the final verdict:  the watch, for me, does not fix what for me is a fatal flaw in inaccurate shot tracking.  If I'm going to have to go in and manually update my shots, then I plan to get GolfLogix or GolfShot for watch GPS usage and renew my DECADE account.  Arccos is just not as user-friendly as it's supposed to be in my experience, and I've elected to not renew my subscription as a result.